Swipe to help the school district? Palm Beach County considers creating an affinity debit card

Soon, you may be able to swipe a debit card and help the Palm Beach County School District with its budget.

As part of its effort to drum up extra revenue, the district is considering partnering with Gold Coast Federal Credit Union to create its own branded debit card known as an affinity card.

Although details and approvals are still being hammered out, the idea for an affinity card is “more than just a casual conversation,” district treasurer Leanne Evans said during a recent budget advisory committee meeting.

The affinity card is the latest in a stream of ideas the district has been exploring in recent years to generate revenue.

It’s floated ideas such as advertising on school buses or leasing more space to cell tower operators. And it’s working on a policy now to govern advertising on the district’s website, said Shirley Knox, the district’s budget director.

Affinity cards are co-issued between a financial institution and an organization, often a nonprofit, where a percentage of the transaction fee to use the card each time is donated to the organization.

Evans said Orange County Public Schools has had an affinity card for the past few years and made about $60,000 last year from the program.

The district has said it is facing about $252 million in basic capital needs it can’t afford in its five-year budget plan.

Evans said the money from the affinity card program could technically be used for anything, and that the district will work with the school board and Gold Coast to figure out what they want the money used for.

“There’s still a lot of work to do,” Evans said, noting that the idea has not yet been brought to the Palm Beach County School Board for approval. She said district staff will soon be setting up meetings with Gold Coast to hash out more details.

“Affinity cards are very common in the financial world with many types of people,” said Rob Delaney, president and chief executive of Gold Coast, which is based in West Palm Beach.

He said he didn’t know how much the affinity card program with the district could bring in, saying it won’t be millions of dollars, but added that “anything helps.”

With an affinity card, a portion of the interchange or swipe fees that merchants pay every time a consumer pays with a debit card would be donated to the school district, Delaney said.

“We want to be able to support the schools and the kids,” Delaney said.

Delaney said his bank has about 20,000 account holders who could opt to get the new debit card if they so chose.

But the card still needs to be developed and terms figured out, Delaney and district officials said.

“This sort of thing bonds communities together,” Delaney said. “It’s a way for us to give to the school district. … It’s a win-win for everyone.”

What do you think of this money-making idea from the district? Do you have any affinity cards in your wallet? Share your thoughts in the comments below.